Here's the Official HOF Ballot for 2019.
OK, if I got a ballot...and I should have one, here's what it would look like.
1. Edgar Martinez
2. Mario Rivera
3. Todd Helton
4. Larry Walker
5. Fred McGriff
6. Mike Mussina
7. Roy Halladay
8. Omar Vizquel
9. Jeff Kent
10. Curt Schilling
Now, let's just say a few things.
• First, as you should know, I refuse to vote for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, or any other steroid abusers...this is not debatable.
• Edgar Martinez was a great hitter.
It's time the media...and the fans...stop complaining about the DH...it's been around for 46 years now...it's not going anywhere, and the great designated hitters deserve HOF consideration .
●Todd Helton belongs in the HOF.
I hate that any player who puts on a Rockies uniform and plays a few years in Colorado is automatically banished from HOF consideration by the media...it's pathetic...Nolan Arenado is already a HOF 3rd Baseman...and, again, as with the DH, they've now played 25 years of baseball in the Mile High city...the Rockies aren't going anywhere.
• Helton, Arenado...and Larry Walker are all HOFers...and players like Andres Galaraga shouldn't get downgraded for playing there.
● Once Jack Morris got into the HOF in 2018 I was able to end countless frustrating years of listening to media know it alls talk about Mussina and Schilling...and then after Halladay passed away everyone wanted him inducted immediately...none of them deserved to go into the HOF before Morris.
• Mussina, Schilling, and Halladay are deserving candidates...however, there's still pitchers who belong in the HOF... Jim Kaat, Tommy John, and Don Sutton, are as deserving as the three I voted for...especially Tommy John.
• If you never saw Omar Vizquel play, I'm sorry, he was easily one of the best shortstops of my lifetime watching baseball, 50+ years and counting, and it's time that Vizquel get into the HOF.
• Jeff Kent was a great hitter and a good second baseman who went out every day playing in the shadow of Bonds...and played the game the right way...you can thank Mad Dog Russo for this vote.
• Mariano Rivera may become the first player to receive 100% of the ballots, and it's well deserved if he does.
• The fact that no player has ever gotten every vote is ridiculously absurd...BBWAA writers held grudges against players for decades...how in the heck did the original ballot inductees, Cobb, Ruth, Johnson, Mathewson, and Wagner not get 100%?
So, there it is, my ballot.
On January 22nd the HOF will reveal the Official BBWAA ballots, and any player receiving 75% of all the ballots will gain election into the HOF.
• The elected players will join Harold Baines and Lee Smith, elected by the Veteran's Committe on December 2nd on HOF Weekend, July 21st.
Thanks for reading this post, feel free to leave who'd be on your HOF Ballot in the comments.
Play Ball!
This is almost my exact ballot. I think the only difference is I voted for Rolen instead of Vizquel. I'm not a Vizquel hater, I just don't see him over the line.
ReplyDeleteI would not object to Tommy John or Jim Kaat in the Hall, but I don't want to hold Mussina or Schilling back just because they are not.
There are plenty of players that I believe are deserving of the honor that have been overlooked, and I hope the Veterans Committee will correct some of those oversights. Guys like Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Dave Concepcion...they are all in my personal Hall of Fame.
JT, The Writer's Journey
Thanks. Have no problem with Rolen...and yes, Murphy, Parker...and Sweet Lou Whitaker!
DeleteAm on the same page with the PED guys. Solid choices all around but I'd probably vote for far fewer. I like to see max 5 guys a year make the Hall. Too many and it loses some mystique.
ReplyDeleteI've said this on another blog, but I don't see how you could put Vizquel in the Hall over Andruw Jones. Both were great defensive players, but if Jones were an average corner outfielder with the same bat, he's a star, a little short of Jose Canseco. If Vizquel were an average corner outfielder with the same bat, he never gets above double-A.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy these HOF discussions and posted my ballot recently (perhaps it's the one Brett is referring to) Your comments are spot-on, I agree with nearly all of your choices and reasons. Helton and Walker are being unfairly downgraded for playing home games in Denver. It's BS. Edgar will get in, and then there will be no more anti-DH bias. I feel bad for Fred McGriff because he did everything right, but I'm not sure he's a HOFer. Then again, it seems like the veterans committee is doing the work that the BBWAA refuses to (Tram and Morris moreso than Baines) so maybe they will put Crime Dog in Cooperstown.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally on the same page with you and the Colorado guys. Hate seeing them penalized for something they have zero control over. We don't see eye to eye on the PED guys... but debating, arguing, and everyone's right to their opinion is what makes sports entertaining and interesting.
ReplyDeleteI like your ballot, but stand differently on a few fronts. Bonds and Clemens never tested positive while active members in the league. They have more hardware and accolades than others Who played in the same era. Put them in, keep out Manny, Sosa, Palmiero.
ReplyDeleteAndruw Jones was a 2 way player. He could do damage to opponents with his bat AND stopped nearly everything his opponent tried to do while he was in the field.
Vizquel and Kent never struck me as being among the league's best at their position during their playing careers. So no on them for me.
My final ballot would be
Rivera, Halladay, Walker, McGriff, Bonds, Clemens, Mussina, Martinez, Jones
All good points, really appreciate you reading it.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
These HOF posts are always fun to read, and they usually generate some very interesting comments, not necessarily from me, but...
ReplyDeleteOmar Vizquel has become a victim of “Bill James induced” statistical madness and depravity. Vizquel hit .272 and possibly was one of the all time most efficient hitters with his outs. Unfortunately, OPS and WAR don’t tell the story in regards to how well a batter does with the 67% of at bats that generate outs. Don’t be fooled. Vizquel is the Modern Era leader in combo sac flies and sac hits with 350, Ozzie Smith is second with 277. Vizquel maintained an almost 1 to 1 ratio of walks to strikeouts, a feat achieved by only about 10 percent of all hitters.
ReplyDeleteMost stats that are kept seem to benefit the power hitters. When power hitters strike out a lot, they are credited with causing less GIDP’s because they strike out so much. But when a speed player only strikes out 60 times a year, Statisticians use this stat to LOWER a hitter’s overall contact batting average. This is sheer nonsense.
There are no stats kept for double and triple sacs for the same at bat, and no sac’s are credited for moving a runner over via a ground ball to the opposite field. Errors are more often than not caused by a runners speed, yet once again, the speedy runners get no credit for causing an error. GIDP’s are not used to subtract OPS from the power hitter even though they typically hit into almost twice as many as a fast runner does. When all of these biases are accounted for, it can mean anywhere from a 15 to 40 Point bias in OPS in favor of the power hitters. We haven’t even discussed how a fast runner at first base may positively affect the batter via more fastball pitches. Stats have to be overhauled and reapplied for the last 75 years. Omar Vizquel was never a weak stick at the plate. Other than his meager amount of strikeouts, he was always a pain in the butt for the pitcher.
If OPS were properly calculated, Omar Vizquel would have a .720 to .725 OPS.
Great job, thanks for your input!
Delete